By Alicia Mmashakana
North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, has called for a thorough and in-depth investigation into the cause of a fire that broke out Monday night at a bus depot in the Moretele Local Municipality.
The incident in the Moretele village destroyed at least nine buses.
The vehicles belong to parastatal North West Transport Investment (NTI).
“We have recently turned a new leaf with our intervention at the entity by addressing the leadership instability experienced for some time now. We have also ensured that employees received their salaries as promised,” said Morweng on Tuesday.
“Therefore, we believe that we have made great effort to assist the entity in realising its full potential. This however is a set back and overall unfortunate incident.”
Morweng further explained that the NTI Acting Group CEO, Dr Ntlhopeng Dikobe and management at the entity has plans in place to limit the impact of services rendered to commuters in and around the Moretele Local Municipality.
“In the meantime, the department as a shareholder in the company will continue to play a supportive role in order to ensure that service delivery is not compromised and that commuters are not left stranded,” added Morweng.
The North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL) Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management expressed shock over the fire.
The committee’s chairperson, Freddy Sonakile, said he welcome the reports that a criminal case has been opened with the South African Police Services (SAPS).
He said the circumstances surrounding this incident are highly suspicious, especially given the ongoing instability at the embattled NTI.
He said a number of pressing questions demand immediate answers, and only an independent investigation can ensure transparency and accountability.
The committee urged the Department to commission an urgent independent investigation to aid in the SAPS probe and implement immediate emergency protocols to ensure that passengers are not stranded as a result of this unfortunate incident.
Sonakile said that NTI has been plagued by leadership and governance challenges.
“With the Department’s recent court victory on the removal of the Business Rescue Practitioner – now under appeal – the Department had begun making strides by appointing an Acting CEO to stabilize the entity,” he said.
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